Gloucestershire Homes for Ukraine sponsor guide
Download the Gloucestershire Homes for Ukraine Sponsor Guide or read through the information tabs below.
We have also produced a Welcome to Gloucestershire information pack for Ukrainian guests.
Thank you for offering your home to someone in need. The generosity of people across the county in providing safety and refuge to those fleeing Russia’s war in Ukraine reflects the very best of our county.
We are working with the district councils; the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group; Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS) and other partners to support sponsors and guests through the Gloucestershire Housing Partnership.
This guidance is being issued by the Gloucestershire Housing Partnership for those who have registered as sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in Gloucestershire.
We are still receiving updates and information from central government regarding the scheme; requirements for sponsors; and how local authorities are expected to help.
As more information becomes available, we will continue to update this guide. It should be read alongside the national guidance for sponsors.
Please read this Advice for Host Families pack produced by Barnardos and their partners. It contains more information about Ukraine culture differences and how to support someone suffering from traumatic experiences.
- I have registered as a sponsor but do not know any Ukrainian applicants
- Can I sponsor a young person or child from the Ukraine to live with me?
- I am a sponsor and have a match. What happens next?
- Should I tell the local council my guest is on their way/has arrived?
- I have a match and have put it on the system, but no one has contacted me
- What standards will my property be checked against?
- How will I know the person undertaking a Property Check is from the council?
- What happens if problems are found?
- Providing privacy and security to your guest
- When will I receive my £350 “Thank You” payment?
- What will happen during an Initial Welcome Visit?
- Who needs to be present for an Initial Welcome Visit?
- Will the person visiting speak the same language as my guest?
- What financial support is my Guest entitled to?
- How will my guest be helped to settle into life in the UK, and what can I do?
- How can I help my guest find a place in a local school?
- How to access medical care and what to do
- Press, media and social media
- Introducing your guest to your friends and neighbours, including on social media
- Why is the person visiting my home from a charity and not the council?
- What English-language training is available?
- Opening a bank account
- What should I do if I have concerns about a child or adult’s wellbeing?
- Learning a language
- Help with immigration issues, including Biometric Residence Permits
- Newsletters to sponsors
- Housing options
The Housing Partnership will receive your information from the Home Office portal once you have a confirmed match. Once this has happened, you will receive a call from:
1) Your District Council will contact you to arrange a Property Check which we are required to carry out to ensure the accommodation you can provide is safe and suitable for guests.
Please be aware that for some sponsors, this may be from one of the District Council within Gloucestershire, but which is different from the one your address is in. This is so that we can share resources and undertake checks more quickly.
2) The Gloucestershire Homes For Ukrainians Welcome Team, who will ask you for some more details and initiate your DBS checks. They will also look to arrange an Initial Welcome Visit to meet you and your guests once they have arrived.
You do not need to contact your local authority to tell them that you have a match as the Home Office will send data to us when you have put your match on their system.